Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia (1893–1917)
Prince Friedrich Karl of Prussia was a German prince and competitive horse rider who competed in the 1912 Summer Olympics.Biography
Prince Friedrich Karl was born in Schloss Klein-Glienicke, Potsdam, Berlin. He was the son of Prince Friedrich Leopold of Prussia and Princess Louise Sophie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg and a grandson of Prince Frederick Charles of Prussia.
He was a member of the 1912 German Olympic equestrian team, which won a bronze medal in the team jumping event. His horse during the Olympic competition was "Gibson Boy".
He fought in World War I as an aviator between 1914 and 1917. He commanded Fliegerabteilung 258, an artillery spotting unit, but flew patrols in a single-seat fighter with Jasta Boelcke whenever possible. During one such patrol on March 21, 1917, he was forced to land because of a bullet in his engine and with a slight wound to his foot. He landed his Albatros aircraft in no-man's land, but while running towards his own lines he was shot in the back and severely wounded by Australian troops. He was taken into captivity, where he died from his injuries on 6 April 1917 at Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray.Regimental Commissions
- 1. Garderegiment zu Fuß, Leutnant à la suite from 1903; Leutnant by 1908.
- Fliegerabteilung 258, squadron commander, 1917.
Chivalric Orders
- Knight, Order of the Black Eagle, 1903
- Knight Grand Cross, Order of the Red Eagle, 1903
- Knight, First Class, Prussian Crown Order, 1903
- Knight Grand Commander, Royal House Order of Hohenzollern, ca 1903
- Iron Cross, Second Class
- Iron Cross, First Class
- Flugzeugführerabzeichen, ca. 1917
Ancestry
